


we can work this out (if you'd just let me)

by zekewastaken



Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Author Is Bad at Feelings, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, MiShu-Centric, Some Plot, Yeh Shuhua & Cho Miyeon are Rivals, but it's pretty shit-tier, but not really, everyone else just pops up briefly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27363556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zekewastaken/pseuds/zekewastaken
Summary: Miyeon suddenly gets up from her seat and slides into the empty space beside Shuhua, pressing against her in a way that has the sophomore eyeing her suspiciously.“I’d make a good fake date, I guess. And besides, it’s only for two—maybe three days? I’m sure we can last that long without it getting too weird for us.”Despite her own judgment, Shuhua does see a point in Miyeon’s stance as well.“Ugh, fine… But only to get my grandparents off my case.”ORShuhua needing a date to her cousin’s wedding wasn’t supposed to end up with the solution being Cho Miyeon—her college rival.
Relationships: Cho Miyeon/Yeh Shuhua
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	1. Of frenemies and truces

**Author's Note:**

> Originally supposed to be a one-shot, but I looked at my crappy outline and realized that it wasn't going to happen.  
> I've been wanting to write a fake-dating AU for MiShu, so here's my half-assed attempt while also trying to keep a consistent plot. Enjoy.
> 
> **Special thanks to: Mooza (doodleheadmooza) for the Ko-fi, it's hella appreciated :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**edits/revisions made as of 1/05/2021._

Shuhua has a problem: she needs a date for her cousin’s wedding.

Another problem: Her grandparents weren’t helping either.

In fact, they had even bugged her to go out on dates with multiple people—such as the cool and charming Jung Jaehyun, the eldest son of their close friends-slash-neighbors—in hopes that Shuhua would eventually find someone she’d want to settle down with in the future, and they wouldn’t have to worry about their only granddaughter living the rest of her life as a single, celibate mother to two dogs. A future plan that Shuhua herself didn’t find an issue with at all.

(Why are people so pressed about getting a partner, anyway? She really can’t understand this world sometimes.)

And although she’s not as sociable or extroverted like her best friend Yuqi, Shuhua isn’t a total sociophobe. But while she’s open to meeting new people and forming a potential bond with them, she’s also pretty fucking gay.

So, the Taiwanese still needed to find a date that _isn’t_ a guy (Shuhua cannot emphasize strongly enough how disinterested she is when it comes to the entire male populace) and not having to settle with the only, semi-logical solution: Cho Miyeon. The university’s sweetheart, and her longtime rival since they both started breathing the same campus air.

It’s not that she _hates_ the Korean beauty. But, well… it’s kind of complicated.

See, they were more or less pitched against each other when it comes to everything—visuals, popularity, academic standing, extracurricular participation—by most of their fellow batchmates. Sort of like a peer pressure thing to see which of the two can surpass the other in the pursuit of success and recognition. One that Shuhua finds to be an absolute folly, though she still ended up getting roped into the race she never signed up for.

But if she were being completely honest, something about Miyeon just… rubbed off the wrong way. Like her quiet aloofness, the supposed “innocence” she carries around that has people thinking Miyeon is some angel-reincarnate, _“can do no wrong in my eyes”_ gift from the Heavens, how impossibly delicate and soft-looking she is that you just want to protect her without question, and the indecipherable, almost piercing stare she’d constantly give to Shuhua for literally no reason whatsoever—

Well, okay. That last one is pretty much why the sophomore didn’t take a liking to Miyeon when they first met because:

  1. It always made Shuhua feel uncomfortable every time she caught those honey-brown eyes boring deep into her very soul, and
  2. It’s almost as if the senior was silently judging her under the weight of their gaze, and she _hates_ feeling threatened.



So, yeah. Shuhua just couldn’t seem to vibe with Miyeon. At all.

That being said, it’s a wonder how they’ve managed to remain civil in the same friend group with four other girls as mismatched as they are (at least, when it comes to their personalities). But they still clicked anyway, even if the two didn’t _voluntarily_ spend time with each other. Shuhua, especially.

“And that’s why I can’t go to the wedding with her!”

She concludes aloud, much to the annoyance of Soojin having to keep her water from spilling all over her food. Shuhua had slammed her palms down so forcefully, most of the table’s contents have rattled on its surface.

“Jesus, here we go again…” Soojin mumbles with a roll of her eyes, just as Minnie yelps next to her.

“My spaghetti!” The Thai exclaims, grabbing for her plate to save it from the impending doom that is the dirty cafeteria floor, while an exasperated Yuqi looks between Soyeon (who’s calmly reading off the Nutrition Facts on her juice bottle like it’s the next _Good Omens_ ) and Miyeon helplessly.

The senior, however, just nods in agreement.

“Shuhua’s right, Yuqi. I can’t exactly argue with her.” Miyeon concedes, and the Han girl sighs at that.

“Yes. Thank you, unnie.” Shuhua huffs. This is probably one of the very scarce moments wherein they actually saw eye-to-eye without it getting too tense or awkward.

“I just don’t see the problem with the two of you going together…”

Yuqi mutters as she pokes at her half-eaten Shepherd’s pie with the prongs of her fork, eyes flitting up and darting between them briefly.

“I mean… you’ve kinda been friends for almost two years already, so you have to tolerate each other to an extent. Right?” She explains in a mediated voice. “Plus, enemies to lovers is an extremely common romantic-comedy trope. Like in _The Proposal,_ or something.”

Shuhua stares at her incredulously. She’s at a dilemma here, and Yuqi has the naught to bring up “The _fucking_ Proposal” right now? What does _that_ have to do with her getting a date?!

“Come on, Shu. Miyeon-unnie is your only hope.” Her best friend tries to reason once more. “The rest of us are way too busy with school stuff to help you out on this.”

“Yuqi has a point too.” The Korean pipes up again, and Shuhua has to force back a groan.

“Whose side are you on, really?” She grunts, clearly frustrated with how Miyeon is switching sides faster than K-Pop stans during an alleged scandal. The three other girls don’t know who Shuhua is referring to, so they just share a few glances at one another before shrugging.

Miyeon suddenly gets up from her seat and slides into the empty space beside Shuhua, pressing against her in a way that has the sophomore eyeing her suspiciously.

“I’d make a good fake date, I guess.” She starts, which makes Shuhua roll her eyes. “And besides, it’s only for two—maybe three days? I’m sure we can last that long without it getting too weird for us.”

Despite her own judgment, Shuhua does see a point in Miyeon’s stance as well.

Even though most of the campus sees them as _“sworn enemies”,_ there’s no denying that they know each other well enough to be on somewhat decent terms. They’re not very close in general, but it’s not like the two have a personal vendetta against each other either. Perhaps, to the untrained eye, they could pass off as a legitimate couple—as absurd of a thought as it is for her.

“Ugh, fine… But only to get my grandparents off my case.”

Shuhua grumbles reluctantly, but is taken aback when Miyeon squeals in excitement. The last time she checked, the older girl had been very lukewarm and pliant around her. What the Hell has gotten her so giddy all of a sudden?

(That being said, seeing Miyeon this unabashedly ecstatic is quite… adorable. Not that the Taiwanese would actually admit it out loud, of course.)

“I promise I’ll do my best, don’t worry!”

Miyeon is grinning from ear-to-ear, and Shuhua already thinks that _this is a bad idea._

“A thousand won to see which one of them caves in first?” Soyeon decides now would be the best moment to insert herself into the conversation, sharp eyes darting between the three other spectators with a lazy, yet knowing gaze behind her rounded spectacles. “I’m betting on Miyeon-unnie.”

Out of nowhere, Yuqi slaps down two of the exact bills. “Double the price, and it’s a deal.”

Shuhua couldn’t believe this. “Are you guys seriously going to bet on us?” She asked in disbelief, glancing at Miyeon right after to gauge her reaction. Surely, the senior would react in some way. Right?

Nope. Nothing, except for the small tug on the corner of her lips.

“I’m betting on Myun too!” Minnie interjects and throws in her share of money into the growing pool on their lunch table.

Soojin, who is silently watching their antics with a placid look on her face, heaves out a long sigh. “This is so dumb.” She said, then reaches over to add another two-thousand won with the rest. “You better not let me down, Shu.”

“Hell yeah! Team Shuhua for the win!” Yuqi declares loudly and raises her hand for Soojin to high-five, while the group just laughs at her antics. Miyeon included.

Shuhua can’t help but feel utterly betrayed.

_“Unnies!”_

* * *

It’s Friday before the weekend, and Miyeon (being the only one in the group with both a car and a license) drives them towards Shuhua’s house that’s a little further beyond the city. The ride is painfully quiet, save for the Bluetooth radio playing music from her Spotify playlist—the sound of Beyoncé’s voice filling up the palpable silence so they wouldn’t have to.

Frankly, Miyeon is surprised that they haven’t gotten on each other’s nerves yet. About her terrible skill of parallel parking when they were at a rest stop for a quick bathroom break, or the crumbs Shuhua was leaving on the leather seat as she snacked away on a bag of Honey Butter chips from earlier.

The two aren’t exactly the best conversationalists. But even Miyeon, who normally tries to get even a bit of small-talk going on between them, hasn’t uttered a single word since she asked what kind of toy Shuhua wanted in her Happy Meal at the McDonald’s drive-thru. And that was nearly _twenty_ minutes ago.

(However, Miyeon had stolen a few glances since they left the place and smiled every time she caught the happy expression on the sophomore’s face. Who knew Shuhua could look so cute and wholesome just rolling the tiny vacuum attached to Ice Bear’s paw across her palm? If it weren’t for the ambiguity of their current status, the Korean would’ve leaned over and pinched her cheek while cooing.)

As they wait in line at a crowded checkpoint, Miyeon watches as Shuhua—having put aside her toy in favor of eating the rest of her food—picks at a cold fry for way too long and decides to speak up.

“Are you okay, Shu?” She asked tentatively, bracing herself for the dismissive scoff that comes whenever Shuhua decides to ignore her, but glances back to find the latter mulling it over with a thoughtful look.

“Just a bad day. Not really in the mood.” She mumbles at the window without meeting her gaze, and Miyeon frowns. Worried.

“I see… Do you want to change the music, at least? It might make you feel better.”

A dumb suggestion, Miyeon believes, though she chalks it up to her trying to be more sincere around her former enemy-turned-distant acquaintance in hopes to make this road trip a little more bearable for them both.

Shuhua nods wordlessly and grabs her iPhone from the center console. “What’s your passcode, unnie?” She says after pausing the music.

“Um, 1-2-3-4.”

Perhaps Shuhua was only acting nice in return for the senior driving them, because she just gives her a questioning look before punching the numbers into the lock and auto-playing a Melanie Martinez album. _K-12,_ if Miyeon remembers correctly, since she remembers listening to one of the songs when it first came out.

The Taiwanese turns back to the window again, and Miyeon leaves it at that—until a hushed voice mutters: “I failed my Contemporary World exam today.”

_Oh._

“I’m… sorry to hear that.”

All she receives is a shake of the head, as if telling her _“don’t worry about it”_ , except Miyeon isn’t the type to brush off her concerns so quickly.

“Can you drop the class and switch it with another? You like Philosophy, right? Maybe you can take that instead.”

She offers politely, knowing that it’s one of Shuhua’s newfound interests. The younger girl didn’t enjoy studying about social and political changes around the world, simply because it never really appealed to her.

“I guess, but… I don’t know. They might’ve picked my schedule and everything, but the thought of dropping a _minor_ class over a failed mark just doesn’t feel good on my conscience. If anything, it makes me want to do better next time. Even if I don’t like the subject all that much.” Shuhua explained, and Miyeon finds herself marveling at her steadfast determination.

While most people would’ve considered it pointless and a waste of her time, the senior thinks it’s admirable that Shuhua doesn’t give up so easily. She looks at her mistakes, tries to improve from them, and faces the challenges head-on. Something Miyeon has always respected about her.

“If that’s what you want, then go for it. You know what’s best for you, Shu. I won’t get in the way of that…” She trails off, unsure where to go from there, until Shuhua faces her with an unreadable gaze in her deep, black eyes—although there’s a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips.

Too bad it disappears after a couple seconds.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Is all Shuhua replies with, before her expression automatically reverts back into one of flat indifference. And Miyeon realizes how much she doesn’t like it either.

_Weren’t you the slightest bit friendly just a few seconds ago? What happened to it?_ She laments, slightly disheartened by the immediate shift in her demeanor.

“We probably won’t be at your house for another hour. Two, depending on the traffic.” Miyeon attempts to change the topic after seeing how their conversation has come to an end. “You can take a nap, if you want. I have some pillows at the back that you can use, and a blanket if ever you feel cold.”

“Thanks, unnie.”

Shuhua reaches behind them to grab a small bean pillow and a fleece blanket from the backseat, then adjusts her chair to a reclining position so she can curl up comfortably in the passenger side.

“You better not kill me while I’m sleeping.” She half-heartedly warns, which draws out a cute giggle from the older girl.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Miyeon jokes in spite of the glare that was thrown her way.

Half an hour into the trip, Miyeon had turned down the radio volume so that Shuhua can sleep undisturbed and looks over at the resting form of her dongsaeng. A soft, almost affectionate smile on her face as she gently tucks a rogue lock of raven hair behind Shuhua’s ear.

Maybe they’re starting to become friends. Slowly, but surely. Or maybe it’s just Miyeon thinking that way.

“Sleep well, Shu-Shu.” She whispers quietly, before turning her eyes back to the road ahead.

* * *

When Shuhua wakes up, the car is parked in her house’s driveway and Miyeon was just about to rouse her awake. “Rise and shine, Snow White.” The senior calls out teasingly, earning a grunt from the drowsy girl as she rubs at her tired eyes.

“Uh-huh, very funny…” Shuhua deadpans, her voice coming out a bit slurred and raspy. “What time is it, unnie?”

“It’s like a quarter past seven already, so it’s pretty dark outside.” Miyeon tells her as she shuts off the engine.

“Ah, that’s fine.”

They get out of the car shortly after, with Shuhua rolling her shoulders a bit to ease away the knots and kinks in them. Hearing a few joints pop as she does so, before she cranes her neck slightly. That three-hour ride must’ve really made it stiff.

“I feel like my arthritis is coming a few decades too early.” It’s a poor joke, and one that doesn’t really make much sense. But somehow, Miyeon ends up laughing anyway.

“Dramatic as always, aren’t you?” She says in a playful tone, to which Shuhua responds with a light scoff.

“It’s one of my many skills, besides burning water for my noodles.” The sophomore flatly states, but doesn’t suppress her grin when Miyeon chuckles at that. “I have a special talent, you see—"

“Hey, you two coming in or what?” A male voice interjects from afar, and their laughter promptly dies off. Shuhua looks up and smiles though, before moving forward to embrace her older brother.

“Hi, Kuanlin.” She said, just as he squeezes her in a tight hug before walking over to greet the Korean beauty.

“Nice to see you again, Miyeon.” He grins warmly as they hugged each other. The two had interacted a few times when he used to drive Shuhua to her classes, so they got along quite well in spite of her supposed “rivalry” with his younger sister. “I gotta admit, this is kinda unexpected. I didn’t think you’d get our little Shu-Shu in the dating scene so soon.”

A realization dawns on Shuhua and she instantly freezes. _Shoot, we haven’t made up a story yet!_

Her eyes drift to Miyeon, who (thankfully) catches on to her panic and hastily draws up a half-baked reply.

“O-Oh, yes! Well—” She flounders. “It’s still pretty new in the grand scheme of things, you know? Four months and counting, but I do what I can.”

Miyeon’s voice has gone a couple decibels higher, so Shuhua can tell how _fake_ she’s sounding right now. Fortunately, her brother just eats it up without question and simply nods like it was the most reasonable explanation he’s heard in a while.

“Still, it’s mad cute. I’m happy for you two.” Kuanlin grins at them. “Anyway, I’d better get going. The boys and I are heading to the pub tonight, but I’m sure you’re both ready to crash for the day.”

Shuhua can only laugh semi-nervously as she waves him off. “Totally, yeah. See ya, Kuannie!”

The man takes his leave, and they start unloading their luggage from the back of Miyeon’s car. Carrying their bags and other things into the house in silence, until Shuhua breathes out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God you’re good at making stuff up on the go, unnie.” She says gratefully when they’re climbing up the stairs to her bedroom, careful not to wake her father up and face yet another obstacle between them.

“Why do you think I can beat you in Mafia a lot better?” Miyeon winks, just as Shuhua groans.

“Don’t bring that up.” She grumbled, but smiles nonetheless. “At least I don’t bluff as much as Yuqi does. She’s a horrible liar than all five of us combined.”

Miyeon hums. “Fair point. No wonder Soyeon likes to target her the most.”

Once they’ve set their bags down on the carpeted floor of Shuhua’s room, the Taiwanese flops down onto her bed with an arm thrown over her eyes. Now that she’s being forced to deal with Miyeon, she starts to actually enjoy the older girl’s presence. It’s… a weird feeling, but not unpleasant by any means.

There’s a dip in the mattress next to her, and she lifts her arm slightly to find Miyeon sitting down. Her eyes glued on the screen of her phone as she scrolls through her Instagram feed.

“So, uh…” Shuhua begins awkwardly. “Do you want to come up with the story first, or…?”

Miyeon shrugs before putting aside her phone. “Sure. I mean… it doesn’t have to be _super_ involved, does it?”

“Nope.” Shuhua said. “And besides, this isn’t _The Proposal_ where I might get deported if you answer a question wrong.”

The Korean snorts at that.

“We can just say that we met a club orientation during my freshman year, but we didn’t really click until our friends got us to hang out together. Then the rest is history.”

It’s the single, most half-assed effort Shuhua has ever put into making a white lie, but there’s not much for her to really work with outside of their last-minute _“partnership”_ for this wedding plan.

“Guess that works too.” Miyeon laughs, moving to lie down on the bed with Shuhua so that they’re both staring up at the ceiling. “When’s our anniversary, _honey_? You better take me out to a nice, candle-lit dinner by the riverside, or you’re sleeping on the couch for the next week.”

Shuhua purses her lips. _And she calls me dramatic? Please._

“You’re the romantic one, unnie. Why don’t you set up the date for us?”

Miyeon ponders for a moment. “October 17th maybe? That’s a good four-month window for our relationship to be real enough for the wedding, and also recent enough that we’re still adjusting and learning more about each other as we go.”

“Sounds good. But how do I explain the fact that I never mentioned you to my grandparents back then? Especially when they were trying to set me up with some random girl at that time?” Shuhua asked.

“Hmm… you can say that we were only coming to terms with our feelings then, except neither of us had confessed yet.” Miyeon supplies helpfully. “And we only became official like a week or two later.”

“Okay, but what about not taking you home to my family’s Christmas reunion?”

“We were keeping our relationship hidden, because it felt more special that way.” She concludes with a proud smile, which has Shuhua chuckling.

“A secret, fake relationship? This is some Wattpad-worthy stuff right there.”

“What?” Miyeon pokes a finger in her side, grinning at the loud yelp she receives from a ticklish Shuhua. “ _You’re_ the one who said that we should come up with a story. I think I deserve some credit for the help, or your family is going to be suspicious about us.”

Shuhua grabs her wrist before Miyeon can poke her again and fixes her with a look. The senior just laughs again (a pretty one at that) and returns to her conquest of annoying Shuhua. This time, by using her free hand to poke her instead. The sophomore deflates with a sigh, while Miyeon crows with victory.

Just who is the older one between them again?

“Idiot.” Shuhua calls her.

“Dummy.” Miyeon replies back.

Yeah, they’re _definitely_ becoming friends now.

After they’ve gotten off her bed, taking turns in the bathroom and changing awkwardly in the same space, they’re settled back under the sheets with their bodies facing each other. And that’s when Shuhua decides to speak up.

“You know, unnie… I don’t know why I was so against being friendly with you in the first place. You’re actually pretty fun to have around.”

Her voice is quiet as she says this, and Miyeon’s gaze turns soft and understanding.

“Well…” She considers her next words carefully. “With everyone seeing us as rivals because of how similar we are, it’s not like we had a choice but to play along to their beliefs. It’s all we ever knew how to do, wasn’t it?”

A pause.

“To be fair, I wasn’t helping much either… even though I really wanted to get this stupid rivalry behind us and get closer with you.”

“You did?” Shuhua asked, dumbfounded, and Miyeon nods sadly. “I-I’m sorry, unnie. I didn’t know…”

“Don’t be. I’m just glad that things are working out between us this time.” Another pause. “Honestly, I like it here. It feels… nice.”

If it weren’t for the darkness of her room, Shuhua would’ve noticed the faint blush on Miyeon’s cheeks when she admits this. But that’s okay, her dongsaeng doesn’t need to know about it.

“Yeah, I like it here too.”

Shuhua’s hand then moves on its own accord, fingers reaching out to gently push away the hair from Miyeon’s face. It makes her blush even harder, while the Taiwanese feels like something has opened up within her. She doesn’t dwell on it for too long though and slowly retracts her hand, much to Miyeon’s disappointment.

They exchange a couple smiles and _“goodnight’s”_ before finally settling down to sleep. Miyeon is the first to get knocked out, her little snores being muffled by the pillow beneath her head, as Shuhua watches her. Eyes drinking up the sight of her peaceful state, and the subtle rise and fall of her body with every soft breath that she takes.

Shuhua might be Snow White, but Miyeon is a literal _Sleeping Beauty._

“Oh, God…” She mumbles, rolling onto her back with a hand clasped over her forehead. “What did I get myself into?”

Her plans have never been foolproof, after all.

* * *

The next morning, Shuhua wakes up to the sight of Miyeon on her iPad. Her left hand clasped around a carrot pen, with which she’s using to draw on its wide screen.

_“WhattheHell…?”_ She mutters, her words jumbled together as she blinks away the remnants of sleep from her dreary eyes. Miyeon is wearing glasses and a loose t-shirt over some pajama pants, looking entirely too much like she belongs here on Shuhua’s bed and waking up next to her every day.

Or maybe it’s just Shuhua thinking that way.

Miyeon then peers over the screen to give the younger girl a sweet smile.

“Good morning, Sunshine.” She greets warmly, and Shuhua finds herself enjoying this kind of set-up. There’s something in her chest that she can’t quite put a finger on, but it’s nothing unpleasant or unbearable. “It’s actually a little earlier than you’d like. Sorry for waking you up.”

“You didn’t, don’t worry.”

Shuhua swipes her phone off the nightstand and stares blearily at the digital numbers on its lock screen. _9:21 AM,_ it read.

“Geez, unnie. How long have you been up?” She can’t help but ask.

Miyeon answers her, but Shuhua barely hears it. Her mind is more focused on the fact that she feels _comfortable,_ it’s strange. Just last night, things were a tad awkward between them. But now, it’s like they’ve been friends since forever.

Contrary to what most people believe, Shuhua can be very observant of her surroundings—even if she does pose herself as an airhead sometimes—and that includes a certain Cho Miyeon. Her supposed _“rival”,_ according to popular belief.

She knows that the senior wears glasses outside of the campus. She knows what the senior likes to do in her spare time, knows what ticks her off (and not just the petty annoyances, but actual things that _really_ irk her), knows the kind of music she listens to and the food she loves to eat, knows her little habits when she thinks that no one notices them, her family, her struggles… and Shuhua bets that Miyeon knows the same about her, if not more.

Surely, knowing these small, but meaningful details is enough foundation to build a friendship on. Right?

“Shu-Shu?” Miyeon breaks into her train of thought and waves a hand in front of her. “Are you okay? You zoned out for a moment there.”

“Sorry.” Shuhua shakes her head, a bit embarrassed that she’d been caught sort of staring. “Guess I’m still sleepy.”

The older girl just smiles again before going back to her work—whatever it is. After a minute or two, Shuhua becomes curious. “What are you doing, unnie?”

“Hm?” Miyeon asks, distracted.

“Like what are you drawing exactly?”

“Oh, this?” She turns her iPad around so that Shuhua can see its screen. “I’m working on a storyboard for my AniGraph class. It’s for a midterms project.”

“Ah…” And Shuhua finds something she didn’t know about the Korean beauty. “What course are you majoring in anyway?”

“Animation and Design.”

Okay, now _that_ really throws her for a loop. Miyeon and “art major” didn’t seem to go together. If anything, Shuhua would’ve assumed she’d take a degree in business or HR management. The technical, big-brain stuff.

Her bewilderment must’ve been obvious, because Miyeon glances back at her and giggles softly. “I know most people don’t expect it from me, but I love it.”

“No, no! I mean, like—that’s really cool!” Shuhua adds lamely, and she’s rewarded with another giggle. “It’s cool that you enjoy what you’re doing.”

“Yeah.” Miyeon said, saving her work and then turning off her iPad, before removing her glasses and placing them aside. “I’m happy with my course.”

She stuffs the tablet and her carrot pen back into her bag, before shifting around to face Shuhua once more. That everlasting smile on her face as she asks: “So, what’s the itinerary for today?”

“Nothing of significance, I think.” Shuhua pulls up the calendar on her phone and gestures for Miyeon to come closer, which she does enough for their bodies to be somewhat touching. Her front being pressed against Shuhua’s back, while the Taiwanese has to remind herself how to breathe. Especially when she feels Miyeon’s head resting atop her shoulder so that they can look at the screen together. “We just have the rehearsal dinner tonight, but the rest of the day is free.”

Miyeon hums quietly at that, and the sophomore turns to look at her. “What is it, Shu?” She asked.

“Do you want to go out for breakfast?”

The offer makes her stomach rumble, and Miyeon’s cheeks flush in mild embarrassment as Shuhua bursts into laughter.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” She grins afterwards, before feigning a cry of pain when Miyeon lightly smacks her arm.

“Brat.” The latter scoffs, but smiles easily. “I’m going to take a shower first. Is that okay?”

“Sure, unnie. Go ahead.”

As Miyeon disappears into her bathroom, towel and clothes in hand, Shuhua drops back onto her bed with a long huff. Somehow, she feels dizzy. And the slight disorientation blocks out the sound of her bedroom door creaking open.

“Morning, princess.” Her father pops in unexpectedly. Shuhua jumps a little at the sudden voice, but relaxes again when he comes inside.

“Hey, dad.” She smiles and moves to sit up, only to frown at the knowing look on his face. “What’s up?”

“Cho Miyeon, huh?” He asks, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiles, and Shuhua blushes. “Kuanlin texted me about you two last night. I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised.”

Oh, right. Not only are they going to have to sell this to everyone at the wedding, they’re also going to have to sell this to her father too. And Mr. Yeh has always been able to catch his daughter in a lie. _“Parent’s intuition,”_ he’d often tell her.

“Well, yeah. I mean… I was pretty shocked too. But, um, we’re managing.” Shuhua fumbles with her words in hopes that he’d buy it somehow.

The man just chuckles heartily. “Miyeon’s a sweet girl. Always has been.” He said. “I’m glad you finally worked through whatever problems you’ve had with each other. I figured you’d both get along well if you gave it a chance, and that she’d make you really happy if you let her."

Her cheeks grow warmer at the thoughtful expression on his face, not knowing what to say—or if she should say anything, for that matter.

“Guess we’re a little bit more than good friends now, dad.” She ends up replying anyway, and he pats her back. Oblivious to how Shuhua is kicking herself from how bad she’s faking this without Miyeon around to save her ass.

“I know, princess. I’m just… proud of you, that’s all.” He’s wearing that fatherly smile now, which makes Shuhua feel even terrible for lying to his face. “Don’t forget about our rehearsal dinner at five. Ask Miyeon if it’s okay to drive yourselves there. Kuanlin has the car with him, and I’ll be joining your uncle later."

“Got it, dad. Thanks.”

They go in for a hug, and Shuhua feels homesick. Granted, she’s technically home right now—but the young girl missed this. Moving into a dorm doesn’t provide the same comfort and familiarity as coming back to the house she practically grew up in since leaving the Taoyuan County back in Taiwan.

Not long after her father had left, Miyeon comes out from the bathroom. Already dressed in a new set of clothes as she dries off the dampened ends of her lustrous, dark hair. Shuhua is trying not to look like a pervert by gawking at her long legs, which were left bare in those tight-fitting denim shorts that complimented her Tommy Hilfiger crop top.

_Holy Christ._

Flustered, she blindly snags her own change of clothes from the dresser and makes a beeline for the bathroom. Passing by Miyeon, who smells like fresh citrus and dandelions from her own shampoo, while also forcing herself not to peek at the Korean’s exposed midriff.

The senior has always been very beautiful, even Shuhua acknowledged that from day one. It’s one of the reasons why Miyeon is dubbed _“The University’s Sweetheart”_ by most of their peers because of her stunning visuals.

But since when did looking at her become a challenge?

Regardless, she doubles back slightly when her foot reaches the doorway. Catching the older girl’s attention as Shuhua turns to face her. “What’s wrong?” Miyeon asked curiously.

“I realized that relationships involve more than just telling others that you’re together.”

Shuhua explains rather slowly, for lack of a better way to put it, and Miyeon raises an eyebrow. Clearly amused by her obvious struggle, while the Taiwanese exhales loudly to try and keep her momentum.

“I mean, like… w-we’d probably have to kiss at least once, you know? And we’re going to have to act out the whole _touchy-feely_ couple stuff that people do with their _actual_ significant others, and—"

“Shu? Shu. It’s okay, I get it.” Miyeon stops her with a dainty laugh, then takes her by the shoulders gently. “You need to calm down. I promised I’d do my best, remember? You can trust me.”

And once again, Shuhua is thrown in another loop because—

“Huh? No, I wasn’t… I’m not doubting you, unnie.” She said, feeling grateful when Miyeon gives her an understanding nod and encourages her to continue. “I just—I want to remind myself, in case I forget. I trust you, of course, but I don’t trust myself with this. I’m not very good at pretending and improvising on the spot.”

“Good thing I am.” Miyeon replies softly, which makes Shuhua tilt her head at the underlying meaning of her words. However, she falls silent upon meeting her piercing gaze and looks away almost instantly. Her stomach doing the flips as she clears her throat.

They’re both so close, the sophomore can just lean forward and… _wait, what?_

She blinks, trying to gather her thoughts as they scattered around her mind—but the moment ends there. Miyeon isn’t staring at her anymore and had promptly withdrawn her hands, head turned to the side as she says: “Go and get ready, Shu. I’ll just wait for you here” in the quietest voice Shuhua has heard from her that morning.

The girl can only nod before heading off to shower. Her heart racing at the thought of _what the actual fuck had just happened back there?,_ and why she’s starting to feel nervous around her unnie.

“What’s wrong with me?” Shuhua groans in dismay.


	2. Of casual dates and family dinners

“There’s so many people here.”

Miyeon says as they’re seated in a lively bistro, feeling like she’s on some sort of reconnaissance mission, and Shuhua just gives the senior a shit-eating grin over her straw, which she responds to by sticking her tongue out.

“Pfft, what are we? Five?” The sophomore jokes after taking a sip of her blue lemonade.

_She looks nice today._ Miyeon thinks, taking the liberty to admire Shuhua’s visuals like she’s an artwork on display while also trying to be inconspicuous about it. The younger girl is dressed simply that morning. With a black turtleneck sweater tucked into her ripped, washed-out jeans, and white sneakers that complimented her natural style.

Shuhua then pretends to glance around conspiratorially, before turning back to Miyeon with a serious look. “Act like you’re in love with me, unnie.”

It’s a strange request. One that initially takes her aback, but she recovers quickly. “Please,” Miyeon scoffs, hoping that her blush isn’t noticeable as she stares down at her table mat. “I’m pretty good at that…”

(She’s not exactly lying.)

Shuhua furrows her eyebrows at this and opens her mouth to say something—except the waiter comes by with their food, and Miyeon couldn’t be any more thankful for the intervention. The last thing she wanted was to have an awkward conversation over breakfast. Especially now that they’re both getting along better than they did almost two years ago.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call _“progress”._

“You seriously got crepes?” Miyeon asked when she finally takes a look at her plate, eyeing the flat pancake that’s stuffed with bacon and egg.

“Yup.” Shuhua had already dug into her order, which is the same as Miyeon’s, and spoke through a mouthful of egg. “I even got you hash brown.”

“I can see that.” The eldest picks up one of the fried pieces with her fork and bites into it. “I just didn’t expect you’d order something like this.”

“Just because I lived off instant ramyeon for the better half of my freshman year, doesn’t mean I don’t have any class.” Shuhua defends in a light-hearted tone.

“Crepes give me the creeps though.” Miyeon quips with a dimpled grin, then laughs when she sees her face.

“Ugh… seriously?” Shuhua is unamused.

“Oh, come on! That was good!”

“You are _so_ not funny, unnie. Please stop trying.” Shuhua mutters with a roll of her eyes, but the older girl can see the little smile on her lips and counts that as a win. The maknae then cuts a portion off her dish and plops it onto Miyeon’s plate, grinning to herself when she makes a surprised noise.

“Shuhua, what the Hell?” She looks at her incredulously. “Why?”

It’s no secret that the sophomore can be very possessive when it comes to her food—if you count that one time when she threatened Minnie with a plastic knife, all because the Thai was just _near_ her leftover pizza—so Miyeon couldn’t help but wonder why Shuhua is suddenly being nice to her. Not that she used to treat the senior like scum or an actual villain, but it was unexpected from her former enemy. Even if it’s something so trivial like adding hash browns to her meal, or sharing a part of her own crepe.

“I realized you didn’t eat much the other day, unnie.” Shuhua explains coolly after noticing her confusion. “The only thing you had were those nuggets from McDonald’s, and they weren’t even the 20-pieces one. Thought it wouldn’t hurt to give you extra, just in case you’re hungry.”

Miyeon flushes a little at the blunt honesty.

“Oh.” Is all she can possibly say.

Her admiration for the younger girl grows at the fact that Shuhua had _actually_ been observant enough to notice such a small, inconsequential detail, despite her seeming disinterest with anything that involves the senior—save for the brief moment they had earlier when she asked about Miyeon’s drawing and her course, although that might’ve been out of boredom.

But maybe Shuhua _does_ care about her, after all. Just in her own, discreet ways.

“Thanks, Shu…” Miyeon ducks her head slightly to hide her shy grin. “This is really sweet of you.”

Shuhua only shrugs. “It’s nothing much.” She downplays the act while focusing on her crepe, which has been reduced to a few more bites and some misplaced bits of bacon. “Don’t get used to it though. My wallet isn’t bottomless, and I’m still pretty territorial around my food.”

Knowing Shuhua, the eldest can tell that she’s purposely changing the topic to avoid any prolonged attention. So, Miyeon—being the understanding person she is—just settles with a grateful smile instead.

“Still, I appreciate it.” She insists kindly, a familiar warmth spreading in her chest at the thoughtful consideration as they go back to eating in companionable silence. And it’s only then that Miyeon realizes how good the food actually is. “Oh, wow. This crepe is amazing.”

“See why I brought you here, _babe_?” Shuhua has that brazen smirk on her face, which doesn’t do wonders for Miyeon’s poor heart after hearing the sudden endearment. “They have the best crepes.”

“Mmm.” She hums approvingly, drinking from her water glass in an attempt to cover up her rosy cheeks, just as Shuhua glances up and is startled by something (or rather, _someone_ ) behind her.

“Holy shit.”

“Wae?” Miyeon asks and follows her line of sight. When she spots who Shuhua is staring at, her curiosity peaks a little.

There’s a tall girl, donning a brown trench coat over a crisp, white blouse, with her jet-black hair cascading down her shoulders in gorgeous waves. Somehow, her face reminded Miyeon of a cute, fennec fox. Especially with her large, beautiful eyes that accentuated her youthful appeal.

“Shu-Shu!” The vixen wore a bright smile as she waves in their direction. To which, Shuhua responds by returning it eagerly.

“Hey, Tzuyu.” The sophomore greets her fellow Taiwanese friend when she comes over to their table. “You remember Miyeon-unnie, right?”

“Ah, yes. Your _‘infamous’_ rival, according to campus belief.” Tzuyu jests as she and Miyeon shook hands. “Nice to meet you, unnie!”

“Likewise.” She smiles politely.

“So, Tzu.” Shuhua looks at her friend with clear interest. “What brings you here? I thought you’d still be in the city or whatever.”

“Oh, about that. I got invited to the wedding, apparently. Isn’t that cool?”

Miyeon can see Shuhua’s eyes widen dramatically, but she somehow manages to keep it in check. The older girl is impressed.

“Guess we’ll see you there then?” Miyeon offers to speak up, since the maknae seems to be buffering right now.

“You’re going too, unnie?” Tzuyu looks surprised. “Wait, are you two like… a thing?”

Shuhua’s first instinct is to say _“no”,_ except Miyeon had already anticipated this and takes over before she could say something stupid.

“I know, right? It came as a shock for me too, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Her eyes shone with fondness as she glances at Shuhua, whose face turns a bright red when Miyeon shoots her a wink. She doesn’t say anything, however, and just shifts her gaze towards the crumpled napkin by her plate.

_Cute!_

“Now that I think about it, you guys would make a great power couple.” Tzuyu compliments them. “I kinda get why people are still pitting the both of you against each other. The world isn’t ready for MiShu yet.”

Miyeon almost chokes on her own breath while Shuhua splutters.

_“MiShu?”_ The shorter Taiwanese parrots in disbelief.

“Yeah, ‘cause Miyeon plus Shuhua equals MiShu. Honestly, Shu. Catch up.” Tzuyu teases her friend while being completely oblivious to how flustered the make-believe couple are at their ship name. “Anyway, I should get going. I promised my girlfriend that I’d meet her in a few minutes, but it was nice seeing you two!”

The three say their goodbyes before Tzuyu exits the bistro, and Miyeon turns back to find Shuhua sitting stock-still on her chair.

“She seems nice.” The senior muses with her elbow propped on the table, chin resting in her palm as she calmly waits for Shuhua to collect herself.

“Yeah, well… We _sorta_ went out together once.” Shuhua mumbles while fiddling with the handle of her knife. “She’s actually the girl I mentioned to you last night. The one my grandparents were trying to set me up with?”

“Oh, so that’s her?”

The youngest nods. “At first, it was their neighbor’s son. But then I told them I was gay and the next thing I knew, I'm on a date with the niece of one of their bingo buddies.”

Miyeon holds back a snort. “At least you two got along in the end.” She points out.

“Tzuyu’s a pretty cool person.” Shuhua states with a shrug. “I prefer her as a friend than a potential love interest though. And besides, she’s dating that Japanese exchange-student now. Minatozaki Sana, I think.”

“Ah, I see…”

They continue on eating and exchange a few more words in-between bites and sips.

“I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I don’t know how it works. How am I going to fake one enough to make it seem believable?” Shuhua speaks through a forkful of pancake and bacon, then stiffens when Miyeon reaches over to wipe off the grease from the corner of her mouth.

“Sorry, you just got something there.”

She dabs on it with the clean part of her napkin before retracting slowly, the action causing their cheeks to warm a little as the older girl coughs to hide her awkwardness. (It didn’t help.)

“T-That’s okay. Thanks, unnie.” Shuhua mumbles down at her plate. Suddenly, the mostly-eaten crepe looks very interesting.

“For starters, I mean… it’s all about casual touching.” Miyeon says nervously. “Like you’re so close with both Soojin and Yuqi, it comes naturally for you guys. Just do what you normally do with them to me, and I’m sure everyone would buy it.”

The sophomore takes a moment to process this, and then nods again. “Yeah… yeah, I think I can do that.”

Satisfied, Miyeon downs the rest of her water in one gulp ( _Jesus,_ her throat feels dry for some reason) before standing up—but pauses soon after. “Do you want me to pay you back, or…?”

Shuhua, having swallowed the last bite of her crepe, just waves it aside. “It’s fine, unnie. Take it as like, my compensation for dragging you into this mess.”

Her expression is unreadable at first, which has Miyeon feeling confused, but it shifts to something more neutral as they leave the bistro in quiet, comfortable silence.

* * *

Along the way, the eldest drags Shuhua into a quaint, little shop under the guise of _“not having cufflinks”_ and spend the next hour playing around like kids. Trying on a bunch of silly hats and tacky shirts with childlike glee as they explored the clothing section.

“Hey, Shu-Shu. Should I wear this to the wedding tomorrow?” Miyeon asked while holding up a Hawaiian print shirt that’s a distasteful shade of orange, it hurts for Shuhua to even glance at.

“And look like someone who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Sure, be my guest.” The maknae tells her with a tinge of sarcasm, and it’s enough for Miyeon to break into a fit of tinkling laughter. “But for real, don’t. It’s ugly as Hell.”

“Oh, please. It’s basic lesbian fashion!”

“Unnie, you and I both know that flannel shirts are the _true_ pinnacle of lesbian fashion.” Shuhua banters, a grin spreading across her face at the puffed-out cheeks on full display.

“Okay, fine. But what about a vest?” Miyeon trades the atrocious Hawaiian dad-shirt for a grey, single-button vest top from a completely different rack by the corner. “Vests were pretty much the rave back in 2010.”

“I mean… they’re not _offensively_ unfashionable, it’s just…” Shuhua struggles to find the correct words and flails her hands uselessly. “… It’s gay, but it’s not spicy.”

The older girl almost busts a lung after hearing that.

_Adorable._ She smiles unknowingly, content with watching Miyeon wipe at the blissful tears from the corners of her eyes, as a pleasant feeling blooms in her chest.

It’s two in the afternoon when they’re finally heading back to Shuhua’s house. The duo had stopped at a sandwich shop for lunch, which had them running into more people she knows and having to really _“amp up the romance”._ When they got into car, however, Shuhua doesn’t find herself exhausted at all. In fact, she was even unwilling to release Miyeon’s hand after the latter insisted that they do so to make their act seem more authentic.

(Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to admit that the senior’s hand felt very warm and soft in her grasp.)

But, unfortunately, they _did_ have to let go in order for Miyeon to drive properly.

Shuhua connects her phone to the radio as they pull out of the parking lot, scrolling through her Spotify playlist until she lands on some EDM trap song that Soyeon had suggested to her. The music runs in the background as they cruised down a street, and the eldest perks up once she hears the first verse of _Feels Great_ being played.

“Oh my God, I recognize this.” Miyeon exclaims. “This is my jam!”

The next thing they knew, they’re singing at the top of their lungs when the chorus drops. Glancing at each other with looks of pure delight as their voices filled up the car.

_“Now I miss the view from the floor of your room,_

_September came way too soon,_

_Do you remember how it feels to be young?_

_It feels great, mothafucka, yeah!”_

They sing out loud, then start laughing after they’ve finished. The track keeps playing as Miyeon passionately sings along, while Shuhua mouths some of the lyrics that she remembers. They’re having so much, Miyeon almost misses a turn into Shuhua’s neighborhood and it sets the latter off again.

“Heyyy, don’t give me that!” She whines, but still ends up chuckling anyway. The sophomore pretends to wipe away an imaginary tear from her eye, and Miyeon pushes against her shoulder playfully. “Stop laughing at me!”

“I can’t b-breathe—!” Shuhua wheezed as she clutches her stomach. Trying to hold her shit together when Miyeon gives her _that_ pout, but ultimately fails and cracks up again.

“You’re incorrigible.” The senior huffs, despite the smile betraying her voice, before laughing alongside her happy dongsaeng.

The house is empty by the time they arrive, but the two didn’t seem to mind as they climbed up the stairs with smiles on their faces. The sounds of their voices carrying through the hallway as they entered Shuhua’s room, with the maknae throwing herself unceremoniously on her bed. Face-down, and spread-eagled across the mattress for Miyeon to snicker at how ridiculous she looks right now.

Shortly after, Shuhua lets out a muffled _‘oof’_ at the sudden weight that has dropped onto her back. Effectively sandwiching her between a warm body and the comforters as she twists her neck a little to see who it is, and finds herself staring into Miyeon’s honey-brown eyes.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Lying on top of you.” The older girl states the obvious, much to her amusement.

“No shit, Sherlock. But seriously, you’re crushing me.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“You’re the one who’s saying that, unnie.” A pause. “But maybe you did gain a couple pounds.”

Miyeon guffaws as she smacks her arm lightly. “Those hash browns were _your_ idea!” She argues, mirth lacing her dulcet voice.

“I thought it’d be good for my karma, you know. Feeding the hungry.”

“I… you’re impossible.”

“Impossibly _generous,_ you mean?” Shuhua has that smug look on her face, which makes Miyeon roll her eyes. “Now please get off me. You’re cutting my blood circulation.”

“No.”

“Unnie.”

“I said no.”

The younger girl takes a deep breath, sighing through her mouth, before catching Miyeon off-guard by flipping their positions as she rolls them across the bed. Limbs tangled together, and their hair strewn about.

“Y-Yah!” Miyeon yelps in the process, lying on her back with her black tresses splayed over the sheets and crowning her head in elegant waves.

From Shuhua’s point of view, Miyeon looks really sweet… and ethereal. The glimmer of sunlight peeking past the curtains only accentuated the color that’s dusting her flushed cheeks, and her vibrant, brown irises made her seem all the more enticing as they gaze back at her own black pairs. First, in shock. Then gradually transitioning into something more tender and intimate.

_Holy shit._

It takes the sophomore's breath away. Especially when her eyes flit down to the parted lips that reminded her of a rose bud—pink and plush, and velvety-looking—with the upper lip having its natural cupid’s bow, while the bottom one is a little plumper.

And somehow, it gives Shuhua the strange urge to lean down and feel them against her own.

“… Shu?”

A soft, almost yearning voice breaks through her short trance, just enough for her to realize the state that they’re in before reeling back instantly. Like she had been playing with fire and got burned as a result.

“Uhhh…” Shuhua gulps once she’s sitting upright, propped on her knees and away from Miyeon—who lifts herself up to fix the youngest with a concerned look. “I-I just realized that we have a couple more hours till we head out again for dinner. Do you want to like… watch a movie, or something…?”

The expression on Miyeon’s face is hard to read, but her eyes seem to express something that Shuhua can’t quite piece out yet. However, the senior just nods as she averts her gaze to the bed.

“Yeah, sure.” She replies quietly.

“Alright, cool… I’ll just get my laptop real quick, and we can check Netflix together.” Shuhua practically staggers off the bed, cursing at herself for being an idiot, and goes to her desk to grab her laptop.

She tries not to think too much at the sight of Miyeon waiting patiently on her bed, cross-legged and hugging one of the Totoro plushies that she keeps in the corner. Or the goosebumps that trailed up her skin when Miyeon presses against her side, their arms brushing from the close proximity as it sent a tingle down her spine.

But most of all, Shuhua tries not to think of how Miyeon had stared at her earlier. How her eyes kept fluttering down, and the way that her head moved slightly—as if she had actually wanted to _kiss_ her.

The maknae sighs. _I’m probably just imagining things._

* * *

They leave the house around 4:42 PM after Shuhua had asked her dad for the directions, hopping into Miyeon’s car so she can input the address in Google Maps for the eldest to follow. Not even twenty minutes into the trip, she’s already contemplating on jumping out because of her unnie’s terrible song choice.

“If I have to hear the _WAP_ one more time, I’m deadass throwing myself onto the street.” She groans, rubbing her forehead all the while as Miyeon titters at her exasperation.

“Come on, Shu! It’s catchy!”

“Listen, I’m all about female empowerment or whatever the Hell this song’s message is about. But I’m drawing a line at _‘wet and gushy’,_ okay? Like legit, who even uses the word _‘gushy’_ to describe a body?!” Shuhua rants, fuming. “Please, unnie. Don’t subject your maknae to this debauchery.”

The whiny edge in her voice makes Miyeon want to reach over the console and squish her cheeks, but decides against it for the sake of not driving them into a street sign. “You’re right. I don’t want either Soojin or Soyeon coming after me for corrupting their _precious_ baby.” She croons, then giggles at the scowl that was flashed her way.

“I’m starting to believe that you’re annoying me on purpose.” Shuhua grumbled.

“I love seeing you riled up.”

“Is that like a kink?”

Miyeon stifles a laugh. “Oh my God, _no._ ” She vehemently denies through a grin.

“You sure? I promise I’m not going to kink-shame.” The younger insists with feigned innocence.

“You better zip it, or you’ll be hearing the _WAP_ for the rest of this ride.”

“Unnie, wait. I was just kidding.” Shuhua hastily blurts out with a panicked wave of her hands. “No more, please.”

She chortles. “As I figured.”

They eventually come to a compromise and settle with playing _A Thousand Miles_ next—at least, until Miyeon changes the song again because of Shuhua purposely butchering the vocals _and_ instrumentals too. ( _“Shu, for the love of God, you’re going to make my ears peel off.”_ She complains after the Taiwanese had practically hollered throughout the entire chorus.)

Miyeon then removes her hand from the joystick to grasp Shuhua’s left hand with her right. And when the sophomore gives her an inquisitive look, she just says “For luck, you know? There might be a lot of people waiting for us there, so I thought you could use a little support.”

Shuhua’s stomach swoops at the gesture. She smiles back gratefully and lets Miyeon continue holding her hand for a bit.

The contact is reassuring, as simple as it is. Even if she hadn’t been thinking about it, the thought of meeting her family at the rehearsal dinner was messing with her head a little. She’s never introduced a girlfriend before. Not because she’s afraid of the backlash, but more like having to deal with the incessant questions that always pop up.

“I know I’m not very good when it comes to social gatherings. But I can try talking more, if you want.” Miyeon suggests as she looks over at Shuhua, who remains silent. “You can jump in whenever you feel like it.”

“Nah, it’s okay. They’re my family, so I feel like it’s my responsibility to take charge.” She says, and the older girl smiles. “But thanks for offering, unnie. Decent of you.”

“What kind of fake girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?” Miyeon winks. “Or I guess, what kind of friend in general…? But I’ve got your back, Shu. Don’t worry.”

Shuhua smiles again, but she can feel that it’s not her regular level. _Fake-girlfriend. Right, duh._ They’re just friends now.

They pull into the parking as she shakes her body out, attempting to rid herself of the semi-shitty mood she had put herself in. “Ready?” Shuhua asked while glancing at Miyeon, who has shut off the engine.

“As I’ll ever be, I hope.” The eldest replies. Then she smiles, and it’s one of those bright, blinding ones that makes your breath hitch. “Let’s go, _jagi._ ”

Dinner goes about as… not expected as possible. They’re not even seated near Mr. Yeh or Kuanlin, and she and Miyeon had to make small talk with the banes of family gatherings: privy aunts and the conniving cousins. Saying that Shuhua is stressed might be an understatement—the understatement of the decade, to be precise.

“Yo, Shu-Shu.” A tomboyish woman sporting a blonde undercut faces them. “Who’s your date tonight?”

Miyeon quietly asks Shuhua if that’s her cousin’s natural hair color, and the youngest had to force down a laugh while also trying not to roll her eyes. (She still found it endearing though.)

“Amber, this is Miyeon-unnie” Shuhua gestures beside her as the senior waves with a soft _“hello”_. Didn’t she just say that Miyeon is her date like… literally two minutes ago? “She’s my girlfriend.”

(For a single, fleeting moment, it sounded right to her ears.)

“Woah, she is?” Her other cousin, Mark Tuan, interjects from their left. “Damn, Shu. And here, I thought you’d still be too young to be dating. You’ve really grown up, huh?” He continues with a proud grin and leans over to pat her on the shoulder.

“Haha, yeah…”

She chuckles uneasily, before shoving a couple nacho chips in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to speak anymore. To her right, Miyeon snorts into her Mojito drink—only to nearly choke on an ice cube when Shuhua elbows her in the ribs.

“So, Miyeon dear…” A much older woman (the aunt, probably) pipes up from across them, and said girl sits up immediately. “How long have you known our little Shu-Shu?”

“Oh!” Miyeon says after setting her glass down. “Um… just a couple years, actually. We only started dating four months ago, but we’re still going strong.”

She puts on that disarming smile that could grab everyone’s attention, and the woman is instantly charmed.

“At first, we actually didn’t see eye-to-eye so much. But we eventually worked things out after some time with the help of our friends and realized that we get along well with each other, we might just be soulmates—which is a bit cheesy, I know.”

It feels too good to be true, but Miyeon is on a roll right now.

“Oh, Shuhua. She’s a keeper!” The aunt tells her flustered niece. “You really picked the right choice for this one!”

Miyeon smiles again, and Shuhua swears that she can see all three of them swoon. It’s unbelievable.

However, her smile falters by a tad—just as someone else asks her a question and Miyeon quickly replies. Her charm is back on full power, which has the sophomore gaping in awe.

A few minutes into the conversation though, Miyeon suddenly stands up.

“Excuse me, everyone.” She says politely. Still smiling, but Shuhua can see the slight tremble at the corners of her lips and the troubled look in her honey-brown eyes. The senior bends down and kisses her _on the lips,_ chaste and quick, then hurriedly leaves their table.

Shuhua, despite the heat that’s spreading rapidly across her face, keeps it under control pretty well while her relatives coo at the affectionate gesture. Unaware that she’s actually freaking out because it was so out of the blue, and they _definitely_ didn’t practice this.

_Oh, my fucking God._

It’s been nearly ten minutes when the waiter comes over to ask for their orders, and Miyeon is still nowhere to be found. Amber asks her little cousin if the older girl is alright, and Shuhua does her best to respond smoothly.

“Probably had to take a phone call. I'm sure unnie will come back soon.” She reasons, despite being uncertain herself.

With her date being absent from the table, Shuhua decides to order for Miyeon and grows increasingly worried by the second. When it seems like the latter wouldn’t be back for the next couple of minutes, she promptly excuses herself to search for the missing girl.

“Be back in a few, guys.” Shuhua informs them before jogging away from their table.

Not long after, she spots Miyeon standing outside of the restaurant. Head in her hands while leaning against the wall to keep her upright.

“You okay?” Shuhua approaches her, but falls short when Miyeon looks at her with tear-worn eyes that are red from crying. “Unnie, what—"

“I’m sorry…” The eldest cuts her off as she wipes her face, voice unsteady and laced with unspent sobs. “I-I didn’t mean to leave you there for so long, I just…”

“Hey, no. It’s fine.” Shuhua is at her side in an instant, arms moving to pull the vulnerable girl in a comforting embrace as she rests Miyeon’s head on her shoulder. “I, um… ordered you baked salmon, by the way. I know you like seafood.” A pause. “Do you… maybe want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

“It’s stupid, honestly…” Miyeon sounds so hoarse, that Shuhua feels her heart aching at her pain. “I-I’m just being too emotional a-and sensitive over something that _shouldn’t_ even be a big deal, but…”

She heaves a sharp breath before whimpering into Shuhua’s coat, making the spot damp with her tears as she quivered against her dongsaeng—who hugs her trembling form like she’s afraid that Miyeon might just collapse any moment. Shuhua doesn’t know what exactly triggered this sort of breakdown, but she’ll be damned if she left the older girl in such a state.

“I’m so sorry, Shuhua…” Miyeon repeats, her shaky fingers curling into the fabric with an iron-like grip. Almost as if she was clutching onto the younger girl like a lifeline, something to keep her from falling apart into a weeping mess of ruined eyeliner on the dirty pavement.

“It’s okay, unnie. Don’t apologize.” Shuhua consoles her with a soothing rub on her back. Their cheeks pressed together as she gently sways them side-to-side, hoping that this would be enough to comfort the senior and provide her with some relief.

When the sobs have dwindled down to tiny sniffles and shuddering breaths, Shuhua eases back a bit to wipe away the remaining tears from Miyeon’s face. Not caring if her fingers were getting dirty from the dark eyeliner that stained her skin, or the warmth she’s feeling at her own boldness.

“Here,” The sophomore removes her coat and drapes it around Miyeon’s shoulders. “It’s pretty cold out, so I figured you might need this more.”

Miyeon tugs the coat closer to her with a faint blush, her puffy eyes meeting Shuhua’s soft ones and feeling really small under their concerned gaze.

“You ready to go back inside, unnie?” Shuhua asked after what seems like a long time of them just standing out in the chilly night. Doing her best to help Miyeon clean up her face so that the senior would look somewhat decent, and not like she just bawled her eyes out in secret. “I heard that the desserts here are good. We can share one later, if you want.”

(In fact, Shuhua would ditch the whole rehearsal dinner if the eldest didn’t feel comfortable enough to show up there. The last thing they want is to have her relatives bombarding them with questions that Miyeon doesn’t want to answer.)

She then offers her hand to the bashful girl, who takes it gratefully.

“Thanks, Shu-Shu” Miyeon says with a watery smile. “This is sweet of you, really.”

“Gotta take care of my date, y’know?” Shuhua quips with a nonchalant shrug, allowing the older girl to pull her along as they walk through the front doors. The family and their food already waiting for them inside.

Her cousins had annoyingly, but also predictably, asked about the phone call—but the maknae only has her attention on Miyeon, who’s making the others laugh with her ridiculous stories about Minnie’s drunken escapades ( _“She gave Yuqi a lap-dance once, and the two couldn’t so much as look at each other for a whole week!”_ ) while Shuhua watches her fondly. Admiring the surreal beauty that is Cho Miyeon, as she captivates everyone at their table with her natural charms.

_She’s just perfect, isn’t she?_ Shuhua marvels from her seat, unknowingly falling harder with each passing moment as she continues staring at Miyeon with a lovestruck look in her eyes.

An hour later, they all start to leave after an eventful dinner. Bidding their farewells and waving at one another, before filing out of the restaurant and into their respective rides. But as the pair is taking their leave, they run into Shuhua’s grandparents on the way out.

“Grandma! Hi!” Shuhua greets anxiously, and her grandmother crushes her in a hug. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Shuhua, sweetie.” She pats her cheek before glancing at Miyeon, who bows respectfully. “And who is this beautiful, young lady with you?”

“Oh, right.” She grasps the senior’s hand and laces their fingers together. “This is Miyeon-unnie, my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend, you say?” Her grandfather exclaims, grinning. “Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting this!”

He shakes Miyeon’s hand a little too enthusiastically, and the latter smiles. “So nice to meet you, dear! I’m so glad to see our granddaughter finally going out with someone!”

Shuhua doesn’t suppress the giggle that escapes her mouth when Miyeon’s eyes dart to her, silently screaming for help as the elderly couple showers her with all their undivided attention.

“Isn’t this a lovely reunion?” Kuanlin comments as he comes up to them from the side. “Hate to cut it short, but dad’s waiting for us in the car. He’ll drop you guys off first.” The man casually strung his arms around their grandparents and gently urges them along. “Night, lovebirds! See y’all tomorrow!”

They say their goodbyes before parting ways, with the pair hopping into Miyeon’s car while the other three went to join Mr. Yeh.

“You looked like you were about to run for the hills back there, unnie.” Shuhua teases once they’re settled in, then squeals when Miyeon pointedly jabs a finger into her side.

“You were absolutely of no help at all!” The eldest complains, although she ends up grinning when Shuhua continues to squirm from all her pokes. “And by the way, you weren’t any better either. You even looked like you were about to throw up!”

“Maybe I was just nervous about introducing my _girlfriend._ ” Shuhua tries to defend herself by swatting the offending hand away. “They were totally going to talk about setting me up with this other girl tomorrow, until grandma saw you.”

“Aww, poor Shu-Shu.” Miyeon cooed and pinches her cheek, prompting the Taiwanese to whine as she scoots up against the door. “You’re so cute.”

“Oh, will you just drive already? My social battery is low, and I’m tired.” Shuhua groaned, plucking the hand off her face to fix the older girl with a pointed glare. Miyeon only laughs in turn, before revving up the engine and driving them out of the parking lot.

As they start heading back home, the ride is relatively silent. The mellow tunes of Owl City’s _Vanilla Twilight_ serving as background noise inside the car, while Shuhua takes note of Miyeon still wearing her coat and uses this downtime to think about the events earlier—such as the unexpected kiss, and what the senior had meant when they were outside of the restaurant.

She believes that Miyeon only kissed her to sell the whole charade, but they haven’t actually talked about it. They seem to be alright with physical touches now, except… _kissing_? That’s a subject they’ve never really touched on. Like at all.

Not only that, Miyeon had run off and was gone for almost a solid fifteen minutes. So, Shuhua had to do damage control while still freaking out over the fact that she had just kissed her on the fucking _lips. (The lips!)_ And then there’s that cryptic message behind Miyeon’s words when she broke down in Shuhua’s arms after the sophomore found her alone, hurt and crying about _what exactly?_ The answer isn’t very clear.

_Miyeon-unnie said it was over something that isn’t supposed to be a big deal. But what is it?_ Shuhua wonders to herself, even after they’ve made it to her house and changed into their pajamas. Ready to call it a night, without so much as addressing the damn elephant inside the room.

When they go to bed that same evening, they’re cuddled around each other. Talking about everything and nothing (Shuhua notices that neither of them have brought up those two things in their entire conversation) until Miyeon eventually falls asleep. Her head tucked comfortably under Shuhua’s chin, and her arm thrown lazily across her waist. Probably for reasons relating to the possibility that Mr. Yeh might check in on them when he and Kuanlin arrives home later, and they need to look like a cozy couple sharing a bed together. Or, at least, that’s what the maknae thinks.

The sandman evades Shuhua for most of the night, as her mind tries to keep her awake with unnecessary—and daresay, _unwanted_ —thoughts. She doesn’t want to think about what happens when this whole “pretend-date” gig is over by Sunday afternoon. She doesn’t exactly know why that is, but one thing’s for certain.

She doesn’t want to let Miyeon go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be frank, I don't really like this chapter very much because it's just... **a mess**.
> 
> I'm not good with dialogue or character interactions, so forgive me if it seems half-assed. I meant to update yesterday, but I've been feeling very lethargic lately so this took a while to finish.
> 
> On a different note, has anyone watched the _1MILLION x K/DA_ collab with Miyeon and Soyeon? Like, hello. My eyes have been blessed, life has more meaning, Soyeon is my undefeated queen, and Miyeon just slid into my heart the same way she did to the floor. **_#blessedt_**


End file.
